International

UK Government Announces Free Visa, £10,000 Offer To Nigerian Graduates – How To Apply

Published

3 months ago

September 10, 2023

Advocate News Nigeria

UK Visa

The UK government has announced a £10,000 (about N10m) international relocation payment (IRP) to non-UK trainees and teachers to come work in England.

The payment is designed to help cover the costs of moving to England, such as visa fees, immigration health surcharge, and other relocation expenses.

A statement from the UK office reads:

“The IRP offers financial support to teachers and trainees from all over the world who wish to come to train and work in English schools.

“It will be paid around the end of the teacher’s or trainee’s first term. It will not need to be repaid.

“If eligible, trainee teachers can receive both the IRP and a bursary or scholarship.

How to apply

The UK government said that to be eligible, teachers or trainees must be willing to come and work in England for the 2023 to 2024 academic year

The offer is only for non-UK citizens and those not already in the UK.

Also, interested persons must first visit the UK Teaching website using this link to ensure their certificates match the requirements for teachers and trainees.

How the scheme will work

The statement further noted that the scheme works differently for fee-paying trainees, salaried trainees, and teachers.

It added:

“Trainees on fee-paying courses do not need to apply for the IRP. Training providers will pay the IRP directly to these trainees along with any bursaries they are entitled to.

“Teachers and trainees are encouraged to express an interest in the IRP by emailing IRP.ExpressInterest@education.gov.uk if they:

“Start their job or course after 31 October 2023, while successful applicants should receive the £10,000(about N10m) by 31 January 2024.”

Interested applicants are advised to apply now, however, for those who miss the October 2023 application deadline, the UK government has promised that another round will commence in January 2024.

Requirements for interested applicants:

-Be a non-UK citizen

+Be coming to England to teach or train to teach languages or physics

-Have a degree

-Have recognised teacher-training qualifications

-Have at least one year of teaching experience

-Be able to speak English to an undergraduate level.

The languages eligible for the payment are: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Urdu.

The physics courses eligible for the payment are: physics, astrophysics, and nuclear physics.

It is important to note that at the embassy, interested applicants must apply for a skilled worker visa.

International

34 declared wanted over attempted coup in Sierra Leone

Published

5 days ago

November 29, 2023

Advocate News Nigeria

34 declared wanted over attempted coup in Sierra Leone

The police in Sierra Leone, on Tuesday, declared 34 persons wanted in connection with last Sunday’s apparent attempted coup.

The 34 persons whose pictures were released by the Sierra Leone police are wanted for questioning over their roles in the attempted coup that started with an attack on the armoury at the Wilberforce Barracks in Freetown.

The 34 wanted persons include military officers and civilians including two females.

The attempted coup was the second in the country, following a disputed presidential election that returned incumbent President, Julius Mada Bio, to power for a second term in office.

The first attempted coup happened about three months ago following a disputed presidential election in June.

Eight countries in West and Central Africa are under military rule after a series of coups, including Guinea.

However, the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, and regional block, Economic Community of West African States have released statements strongly condemning Sunday’s violence.

International

Sierra Leone declares curfew after gunmen attacked the main military barracks and detention centers

Published

1 week ago

November 26, 2023

Advocate News Nigeria

Sierra Leone declares curfew after gunmen attacked the main military barracks and detention centers

FILE - Julius Maada Bio, president of Sierra Leone, speaks at the start of the Transforming Education Summit at United Nations headquarters, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — Several gunmen attacked major detention centers in the Sierra Leonean capital city on Sunday and freed or abducted inmates, moments after targeting the country’s main military barracks, a government spokesman said.

The detention centers, including the Pademba Road Prisons — holding more than 2,000 inmates — were attacked just as security forces fought to restore calm during sustained shootouts at the military barracks, according to Information Minister Chernor Bah.

“The prisons were overrun (and) some prisoners were abducted by the assailants while many others were released,” Bah said. Security forces managed to “push back” the assailants to the outskirts of the city where fighting continues, he added.

Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio earlier declared a nationwide curfew in response to the attacks.

The unidentified gunmen attacked the military armory within the Wilberforce barracks in the capital, Freetown, early in the morning, President Julius Maada Bio tweeted, adding that they were driven back by security forces and “calm has been restored.”

“As the combined team of our Security Forces continue to root out the remnant of the fleeing renegades, a nationwide curfew has been declared and citizens are encouraged to stay indoors,” he said.

The country’s Ministry of Information and Education also said in a statement that t he government and security forces are “in control” of the situation, trying to dismiss fears of a possible escalation of violence in the country whose population of 8 million people is among the poorest in the world, having some of the lowest scores on the U.N. Human Development Index.

An Associated Press journalist in the capital said that gunshots were still heard in the city hours after the government assured that the situation was under control, although it wasn’t clear who was behind the exchange of fire, nor if any arrests were made.

No details have been immediately given about the gunmen or the reason for the attack, which comes months after Bio was reelected for a second term in a disputed vote in which the main opposition party accused the electoral commission of rigging the results.

Videos posted online showed soldiers patrolling Freetown’s empty streets and captured the loud blasts of gunshots at dawn. The AP couldn’t immediately verify the authenticity of the videos.

West Africa’s regional economic bloc ECOWAS — of which Sierra Leone is a member — described the incident as a plot “to acquire arms and disturb the peace and constitutional order” in the country. The bloc has in recent months tried to reverse the surge in coups in West and Central Africa, which has recorded eight military takeovers since 2020, the latest in Niger and Gabon this year.

“ECOWAS reiterates its zero tolerance for unconstitutional change of government,” the bloc said in a statement.

Bio was reelected in Sierra Leone’s fifth presidential election since the end of a brutal 11-year civil war — more than two decades ago — which left tens of thousands of people dead and destroyed the country’s economy.

He continues to face criticism because of debilitating economic conditions. Nearly 60% of Sierra Leone’s population is facing poverty, with the youth unemployment rate being one of the highest in West Africa.

Two months after Bio won the disputed vote, police said they arrested several people, including senior military officers planning to use protests “to undermine peace” in the country.

A protest against the government in August last year resulted in the deaths of more than 30 people, including six police officers.

International

39 die in stampede during army recruitment exercise

Published

2 weeks ago

November 21, 2023

Advocate News Nigeria

39 die in stampede during army recruitment exercise

• The high level of youth unemployment in Congo-Brazzaville makes a career in the army attractive (Image: GETTY)

At least 37 people have died in a stampede during an army recruitment drive at a stadium in Congo-Brazzaville, the government has said.

Some people tried to force their way through stadium’s gates in the capital, Brazzaville, causing the stampede, residents have been quoted as saying.

Last week, the army announced plans to recruit about 1,500 people between the ages of 18 and 25.

Many people were injured in the crush, a government statement said.

It did not give a number, but said that a “crisis unit” has been set up, the AFP news agency reports.

According to the Associated Press agency, as many as 700 people a day have been registering over the last week at recruitment centres.

Youth unemployment is at around 42% in Congo-Brazzaville, with many young people seeing the army one of the few places where they can secure a job.

Details of what exactly happened at Michel d’Ornano stadium are sketchy. Thousands of young people had reportedly gathered outside the stadium on Monday.

Local sources have told the BBC the registration process was to open on Tuesday morning.

Brandon Tsetou, a graduate who survived the crush, said he had queued since early on Monday.

“According to the organisers, it was to be the last day. That’s why many of us decided to wait until late into the night, hoping to register,” he told AP.

“Some were so impatient that they had to force their way in, causing a stampede that left a number of people dead or injured, which we deplore.” (BBC)